Despite a population of under one million and a land mass only slightly bigger than the Bahamas, East Timor has been the scene of a complex international tug of war and bloody independence struggles for more than 30 years.

It was invaded in 1975 by Indonesia, which held the territory until 1999, when a vote for independence descended into violence orchestrated by pro-Jakarta militias.

Australia led a UN-backed intervention force to stop the bloodshed, and the territory was run by the UN until independence in 2002.

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